Queensland (Central East Coast)

With 23 spectacular beaches a dramatic coastline studded with magnificent hoop pines, Magnetic Island is the "natural destination" with a wide variety of environmental experiences and attractions.Two thirds of the island is protected National Park that contains over 100 species of prolific birdlife including Bluewing Kookaburras, Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and Black Cockatoos. 

Views from the winding roads or 25km of well designed walking tracks are among the most spectacular in the world. Koalas are often spotted, the island being the most northerly point in Australia to have large free ranging colonies and a visit to the koala sanctuary is a must. Rock wallabies are also commonly sighted.

Accommodation and transfer costs are considerably lower than for many of Queensland’s other islands, and if you’ve ever wanted to spot a koala in the wild, this could be your chance – they’re often seen wedged into gum trees up in the northeast corner of the island.

Seen from the sea, Mount Cook hovers above eucalypt woods variegated with patches of darker green vine forest. The north and east coasts are pinched into shallow sandy bays punctuated by eroded headlands and coral reefs, while the western part of the island is flatter and edged with mangroves. A little less than half the island is designated a national park, with the settlements of Picnic Bay, Nelly Bay, Arcadia and Horseshoe Bay – idyllic suburbs of Townsville – dotted here and there along the east coast. Although prices are higher than on the mainland, there’s no need to bring any supplies with you.

After the thirty-minute crossing, the first thing to strike you as you step ashore at PICNIC BAY is the shade, a welcome contrast to Townsville’s parched environment. Picnic Bay is quiet, and an unnecessary pedestrian mall decked out in trendy paving and lighting fortunately fails to dispel the languid atmosphere. Services include an unhelpful information booth (Mon–Fri 8am–4.30pm, Sat & Sun 8am–1pm), a bank, post office and Dee Jay’s store (with EFTPOS facilities). Places to eat include Andy’s Chinese, which serves huge portions, and Tropo’s Garden Bar and Crusoe’s Restaurant, both of which serve grills and salads.

The beach has a swimming enclosure and is pretty enough, but it’s certainly not the best on the island, so most people head off after sorting out transport. If you want to hang around and fish, you can get tackle from Magnetic Sports on the mall. The island’s often-unattended NPWS office (tel 07/4778 5378) is at the end of Granite Street, where you’ll also find the start of a walking track (8km round-trip) out to West Point, a small, assertively private community. The “main” road is closed to rental cars as it ends in a blaze of loose, powdery sand, and the only reason to head out this way is to bird-watch in the mangroves and dry-season lagoons.

Walking tracks lead over the headland to Radical Bay by way of tiny Balding Bay, arguably the nicest on the island; you can spend a perfect day here snorkelling the coral gardens just offshore and cooking on the hotplate provided. Radical Bay itself is small but pretty, half a kilometre of sandy beach sandwiched between two huge, pine-swathed granite fists.

Nelly Bay and Arcadia

A little further along the coast, ARCADIA surrounds Geoffrey Bay and counts the good-value Bannister’s Seafood Restaurant among its attractions. Alma Bay is a perfect swimming beach hemmed in by cliffs and boulders, and there’s good snorkelling over the coral, just offshore. Diving here (through the Arcadia Hotel Resort) is marred by low visibility, but there are plenty of fish and brain coral, and a disintegrating shipwreck. A walking track from the end of Cook Road leads towards Mount Cook and the track to Nelly Bay, or up to Sphinx Lookout for sea views. At dawn or dusk you might see the diminutive island rock wallaby on an outcrop or boulder near Arcadia’s jetty.

North of Arcadia the road forks, with the right branch leading to Radical Bay and the main road carrying on to Horseshoe. Leave your car at the junction and continue uphill on foot to the Forts, built during World War II to protect Townsville from attack by the Japanese. The walking track climbs gently for about 1.5km through gum-tree scenery to gun emplacements (now just deserted blockhouses) set one above the other among granite boulders and pine trees. Best views are from the slit windows at the command centre, right at the pinnacle of the hill. Locals rate the woods below the Forts as the best place to see koalas, introduced in 1930. They sleep during the day, so tracking them down involves plenty of wandering around – although if you hear ferocious pig-like grunts and squeals, then some lively koalas are not far away.

Getting there

Island Transport

Accommodation

• Arcadia Hotel Resort, 7 Marine Parade, Arcadia. Neat, motel-style units around a pool, plus a bar that aspires to be the island’s only nightclub. Organizes dive trips, with equipment.
• Dunoon, The Esplanade, Picnic Bay. Pleasant, fully-furnished one and two-bedroom apartments with extensive landscaped grounds and pool.
• Magnetic International Resort
• Magnetic North Apartments, 2 Endeavour Rd, Arcadia. Large apartments sleeping up to six; nothing flash, but good value.
• Palm View Chalets, 114 Sooning St, Nelly Bay. Totally self-contained and very private A-frame units surrounded by palms and views; advance booking essential.

Maps